Turkey's COVID-19 infections exceed 30,000 for first time in two months

ANKARA: Turkey's daily coronavirus cases exceeded 30,000 for the first time since October 19 on Tuesday, health ministry data showed, as Health Minister Fahrettin Koca warned against rising cases due to the Omicron variant.

Turkey registered 32,176 infections and 184 deaths from the virus, the data showed. Daily deaths have hovered just below 200 in recent weeks, despite cases falling to around 20,000 in that period.

"Bringing case numbers to the 20,000 level was a serious achievement. Due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, it can be seen we are now entering a rising trend," Koca said on Twitter, urging Turks to get vaccinated.

Turkey's daily cases have risen in recent days due to the Omicron variant, with daily infections surging by 30% on Monday.